Thomas Frank Pays the Price as Tottenham Consider Plausibility of Premier League Relegation
Did you know that just six clubs – Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham – have played in every Premier League season since the competition’s inception in 1992?
Everton have very nearly lost their EPL status on numerous occasions, but the Toffees have – one way or another – been able to stick around.
Now the spotlight is on Tottenham, who are just a matter of points clear of the relegation zone in 2025/26. Thomas Frank has been sacked and now the Spurs hierarchy are looking for another head coach to step into the breach.
Could that exclusive group of six be reduced to five at the end of the season?
Let’s Be Frank
Whoever the new manager is, they won’t be eased into life in the capital.
Fixtures with Arsenal and Fulham are a tough way to start, while the Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool odds for the game to be played on March 15 will surely have the Reds as a comfortable favourite.
A week later, Spurs tackle Nottingham Forest – that could yet be a relegation dogfight.
Those placing an English Premier League bet will no doubt be aware that Tottenham are priced at 6/1 to suffer their first ever EPL relegation – with only West Ham (1/2) and Forest (7/2) available at shorter prices (the bookies have largely stopped offering prices on Wolves and Burnley, such is the haplessness of their respective situations).
Frank has fallen on his sword after suffering eleven defeats in 26 Premier League outings, including four of their last six under the Dane’s stewardship – the 1-2 reverse at the hands of Newcastle on February 10 was the final straw for the club’s hierarchy.
It’s a long way from Spurs’ perfect start back in August, which saw them thrash Burnley and defeat Manchester City 2-0 – it doesn’t take long for a manager’s stock to fall in modern football.
Maybe Frank has been hard done by. The Expected Goals differential (xG – xG conceded) suggests that Tottenham’s fair position would be 15th, while long-term injuries suffered by James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Rodrigo Bentancur and Mohammed Kudus have hardly helped matters, either.
So, it’s a new start for all parties concerned. But this is one party that is very much in danger of being pooped unless Tottenham’s new manager hits the ground running… and quickly.
The Curse of Spurs
Frank left Brentford last summer with a reputation as a fine tactician with a happy knack of getting the best out of his players.
Six months later, he’s seeking alternative employment… his reputation, although not destroyed, has certainly been tarnished by his time in North London.
If it’s any crumb of comfort for the Dane, he’s not the first vaunted head coach to come unstuck at Spurs. The probability seems high that he won’t be the last, either.
Ange Postecoglou won domestic league titles in Australia, Japan and Scotland before being unveiled as Tottenham boss in July 2023. He ended Spurs’ 17-year wait for a trophy in his tenure at the club, but by the summer of 2025 had become something of a loose cannon in a series of ill-tempered interviews and press conferences.
Before Postecoglou was Antonio Conte, who has won five Serie A titles with three different clubs and the Premier League with Chelsea, Nuno Espirito Santo – he subsequently guided Nottingham Forest to their first continental campaign in 30 years – and Jose Mourinho, whose CV speaks for itself.
Is it a ‘them problem’… or an ‘us problem’? Maybe it’s time for the Tottenham board to consider who ultimately is to blame for the club’s dramatic fall from grace.